Bipolar disorder is not an uncommon condition; approximately 1-2% of the population experiences it annually, and around 4% will have it at some point in their lives. This means millions of people worldwide live with the condition, making it a well-known and treatable mental illness.
Even though bipolar disorder is a lifelong condition, treatment for it is effective. With management of the condition, people can both control their symptoms and live healthy lives.
Symptoms of bipolar disorder
Bipolar Disorder: Helping Someone During a Manic Episode
You can use a 48 hour rule where you wait at least 2 full days with 2 nights sleep before acting on risky decisions. Review your decision to avoid a tempting, but risky, behaviour.
Cyclothymia, or cyclothymic disorder, causes mood changes – from feeling low to emotional highs. Cyclothymia is a mild form of bipolar disorder.
Introduction
How many hours should a bipolar person sleep? People should try to sleep at least 7 hours per night, regardless of whether they have a condition such as bipolar disorder.
Older adults living with bipolar disorder may have more frequent episodes, and the symptoms may change over time. They can also experience cognitive decline, such as deficits in attention, memory, and other thinking skills.
At the outset, bipolar symptoms are commonly mistaken for ADHD, depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, and, in its more severe manifestations, as schizophrenia.
Five key signs of bipolar disorder involve extreme mood shifts, including manic symptoms like inflated energy, reduced need for sleep, racing thoughts, impulsivity (spending, risky behavior), and irritability, alongside depressive symptoms such as profound sadness, loss of interest, fatigue, significant sleep/appetite changes, and suicidal thoughts, all lasting for extended periods and impacting daily life.
Both manic and depressive episodes can cause significant difficulties in all aspects of life, including at home, work and school. They may require specialized care to prevent the person from doing harm to themselves or others. Some people with bipolar disorder may experience what are called hypomanic episodes.
Common triggers the person may experience include:
Living alone with bipolar disorder is possible with proper treatment adherence, support systems, and personalized safety plans. Managing medication independently requires strategic planning and the use of reminder tools to maintain consistency.
Stick to a routine
Day-to-day activities, such as the time you eat meals and go to sleep. Making time for relaxation, mindfulness, hobbies and social plans. Taking any medication at the same time each day. This can also help you manage side effects and make sure there's a consistent level in your system.
About 25 percent of people with bipolar disorder have symptoms that follow a seasonal pattern. Most commonly, it manifests as an increased risk of depressive episodes in the winter and mania or hypomania in the spring and summer.
Excessive daytime napping is associated with increased odds of a depressed state among patients with bipolar disorder, according to study results published in Sleep Medicine.
A daily routine for sleep, diet and exercise may help people with bipolar disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This therapy focuses on identifying unhealthy, negative beliefs and behaviors and replacing them with healthy, positive beliefs and behaviors. CBT can help find what triggers your bipolar episodes.
Many people with bipolar disorder don't have high levels of social support because depressive episodes can lead to them to shut themselves away and manic episodes can lead them to push people away, making it difficult to get a good support system in place.
However, many people with bipolar disorder have found the following tools to be helpful in reducing symptoms and maintaining wellness:
Several mental health conditions share overlapping symptoms with bipolar disorder, making misdiagnosis relatively common. Disorders such as ADHD, major depressive disorder, and borderline personality disorder can all involve significant mood shifts, impulsivity, and emotional instability.
The person who prescribes it may be your doctor (GP). Or it could be another specialist healthcare professional, such as a psychiatrist.